"Arrange what pieces come your way." - Virgina Wolfe﻿

If last week's announcement of Me Made May has thrown you into a bit of guilty panic, please settle down and relax yourself.

It's supposed to be fun, afterall.Yet I feel anxious.Do you?Make a cup of tea and pull up a chair, dear Makers and Menders.This is composed as much for myself as for anyone else who may feel their reality often falls short of their beautiful, dreamy dream of splendid handcrafted wardrobe gloriousness.

May I present for your evaluation, material in three parts:

Time: Mohsin Hamid on OPB’s Think Out Loud

Stress: How to Prevent DIY Anxiety via Colette

Permission: Big Magic, a book and podcast by Elizabeth Gilbert

In a culture whose baseline pulse is “busy”, how do we carve out more time?A couple weeks ago I heard Mohsin Hamid speaks so thoughtfullyon our modern condition - er, relationship to technology and time.Here are a few excerpts from the interview:​

“Time is our most precious currency, so it’s significant that we are being encouraged wherever possible, to think of our attention not as expenditure, but as consumption.”

“So much information coming into usand we treat that as​a positive thing.”​

"... technology is reshaping us as organisms, as beings,and it’s very important...to be aware of this andto start shapingeach of our own experiences​in relationship to technology,instead of passively receiving​whatever the dominant architecture is.”

Hamid described his phone wallpaper: a homemade image declaring to it's viewer, "No Safari!" - referring to the web-browser installed on his phone. Perhaps this is something that might help you find time. I'm often scrolling the various feeds, for there is always something very interesting to learn and in turn, share with you on this blog. I've been trying to hold myself more accountable lately by limiting the time and being more discerning about the quality of information I'm reading. I'll let you know how that goes.... In the meantime, you might check out http://e.ggtimer.com (H/T: Tim Ferriss, The Four Hour Work Week) to help set time limits on your browsing too.

Colette, in typical fine form, published this guest post over a year ago, but it's contents are just as relevant today:How to Prevent DIY Anxietyby Annaliese Fidgeon at adevotednovice.wordpress.com (also, please see her 3/15 post, "Finished Projects: New and Old"​for some stress relief and lol action. oh wait, we're supposed to be getting off the internet already and conquering life...well, just a leeeeeeettle bit longer, won't hurt, will it?

Finally, if you are feeling stuck in your project, or just life in general, check out Elizabeth Gilbert's, Big Magic.I never read or saw her best-seller/blockbuster, Eat, Pray, Love,but after seeing her TED Talk, on creativity,I'm definitely on that train,Obtain the book if possible, but if you can't get your hands on it, no worries. Listen to her short podcast series here or her TED Talk below.Bonus: listening free's up your hands and eyes for valuable making and mending time! +500 points!

That's a wrap this week.Next week, perhaps something less wordy...In the meantime, I will be working on this gem of a matching set I found a couple weeks ago at Goodwill.Should pads out: check!

Ok, one last thing.If you do want to be officially enrolled in Me Made May,you may be in luck yet if you ask permission via Zoe's site: So, Zo...What Do You Know?Which is another great resource for info and inspo.Now.That's it.G'byeLog off, already!

I had previously held the belief that fashion, as a visual medium, was best expressed "as is." Any attempt to put it into words usually resulted in something aggravating and dull. Cintra Wilson, can talk to me about clothes any day.

Like her, I am hopelessly insatiable when it comes to observing style - time, place, circumstance be damned. However, unlike her, her distinct turn of words: sharp, affectionate, humorous...renders me spellbound and repulsed by her colorful portraits of American style.

Sewing can be a solitary hobby, but it doesn't have to be. Enjoy some fine storytelling and be in the good company of fellow makers through the power of podcasting. Below are three programs specifically geared for the clothing-minded.

February has officially been Black History Month, yet why stop at 29 days, let's keep it going! So much to learn, honor, and celebrate. Here's a run-down of some Styleposium favorites to watch, read, and follow.

To Watch: Fresh Dressed

﻿“The insecurity of not having anything -is the only time you can showcase that you do.If you’re going home and you have roaches and even 10 people living in an apartment, y’know the only way that you can kinda show that you have anything and feel some kind of status, is what you have on your body."

- Damon Dash, Co-Founder of Roc-A-Fella & Rocawear.

Great Minds: Jamel Shabazz

If you watched Fresh Dressed, then you've heardJamel Shabazz,on the art of being

F L Y.

What I see is pride and dignity.Individuals that took great pride in the way they dress and the way they carried themselves. I wanted the world to see something unlike they were seeing before. Despite people’s condition, they’re still able to maintain a great degree of integrity and its shown by the way the way people dress and the pride they take in having clean sneakers on, having fresh gear on that was color-coordinated. That made individuals feel good and it helped to resonate and inspire people to want to dress that way.”

​​Our insatiable taste for new fashion has been outpacing the industry’s ability to keep up. As you may know, when a collection hits the runway, generally it is the Big Reveal. The collection is an example of what’s to come and is not shoppable for at least 4-6 months as it has yet to be manufactured. (This is beginning to change.)

Big chain stores/fast fashion have hacked this process and are beating larger design houses to the punch by taking notes and creating cheap knock-offs before the original collection hits the stores. If you’d like to know more about that, Elizabeth Kline’s Overdressed is a good place to start. (It’s also Colette’s Book of the Month).

Business of Fashion organized a conversation recently regarding the state of the fashion industry. Be a fly on the wall and read their discussion regarding:Social MediaConsumerismOver-producingBridging the commercial and the creativeDesigner burn-outNew looks vs. a signature lookManufacturing pre-runway

A couple “WHAT?!” and “Finally!!!” moments that we’re celebrating:

“...We can be guilty of being kingmakers. We say something is hot and then we say something is cold...Who are we to say what’s cool and what’s not. If a brand chooses to be consistent and stick to something and celebrate its universe, the consumer is going to go with it.”

- Daniel Marks, director and publicist

&

﻿﻿“...People are talking about spirituality, meditation, experiences — not buying objects. I think people are waking up and having a crisis, and they don’t want to live their life from a phone. I think there will be a huge change.”

​- JJ Martin, editor and consultant

<<<<<<<<<<<<yesssssssssssssssssssssssss>>>>>>>>>>>>>

So fast fashion has been ripping off the big institutions, and even the small indie ones too. Here is something you should know:

There is very little copyright/patent protection in the fashion industry.​That’s right, listen to this wonderful gem:

Being sewists, we are in an unique position to beat fast fashion at it’s own game. The development of social media, live-streaming, and tools like Pinterest have made access to collections remarkably available and easy to document. One might create Pinterest boards to collect favorite images and for wardrobe inspiration. A friend of Bill Cunningham's upon gifting him his first camera, said "use it as you would a pen." Capturing inspiration has never been more simple with smartphones. Also, fabric is easier to source with stores going online like the venerable Mood Fabrics, the quality Merchant & Mills, and tech-wonder, Spoonflower. Request swatches of what you like from their online store to make sure the real deal is as good as the image. You might even have a color or fabric swatch on hand that you’d like to replace. Contact the store and see if they might swatch some similar fabrics upon receiving your example.

Conversely, time is a hell of a deterrent.What with trends at their current pace, who wants to create a from-scratch garment that may look dated by the time it’s completed?

﻿﻿Bringing It Back to Personal Style = Here Is Where It Gets Good.

﻿ Some lucky people have a great vision of what looks good on them from a young age. Others develop it as they get older. Some don’t have it all, and that is perfectly ok too. Hey, we’re not the fashion police! We just happen to be passionate about personal style!

Knowing what you feel good in comes naturally (sweatpants, yo!)​Knowing what you look good in - well, there’s too much opinion on that, and it is not necessarily looking out for your best interest.

What do YOU want in your wardrobe?What makes YOU feel good?​Apply that to the inspiration that comes your way and make these pieces your very own. That is a recipe for a beautiful, quality, handmade wardrobe you can cherish for a very long time.